Massachusetts General Hospital Ranked No. 2 in Nation

Hospital exterior photos provided.

For the second year in a row, Boston has two hospitals ranked in the top 10 on U.S. News and World Report’s annual rankings of the best hospitals. This is fantastic news, but perhaps bittersweet for Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) because it was number one last year. The reigning champ, Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, held the top spot for 21 years before MGH nudged it from its perch last year. And MGH is no Cinderella. The hospital is consistently ranked near the top. Number two? Not so bad.

“A hospital that emerges from our analysis as one of the best has much to be proud of,” says Avery Comarow, U.S. News Health rankings editor. “Only about 15 percent of hospitals are recognized for their high performance as among their region’s best. Just 3 percent of all hospitals earn a national ranking in any specialty.”

MGH is ranked nationally in 16 adult specialties. U.S. News included Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in multiple specialties and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in rehabilitation when evaluating MGH. Brigham and Women’s Hospital continues to lock down the ninth spot on the list. The hospital was ranked nationally in 12 adult specialties. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute was also included when evaluating the Brigham.

U.S. News says that they publish Best Hospitals to help guide patients:

…who need a high level of care because they face particularly difficult surgery, a challenging condition, or added risk because of other health problems or age. Objective measures such as patient survival and safety data, the adequacy of nurse staffing levels and other data largely determined the rankings in most specialties.

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston Medical Center, New England Baptist, and Tufts Medical Center also made the list.